“On the Battle Fronts and Working Fronts – Bulova Times America to Victory!”

Soldiers sync their watches before heading into battle using the Bulova ‘Hack’ system / Credit: AOM

Joseph Bulova left the Czech Republic to venture to America when he was just nineteen years old. At the time, he had already dived into the watchmaking and goldsmithing trades. And so, upon his arrival to New York, he eventually landed a job at Tiffany & Co.

In 1875, Joseph founded J. Bulova & Co. in New York City after leaving Tiffany & Co.

Fast forwarding to the end of WWI, Joseph noticed that consumers preferred wristwatches as over traditional pocket watches. While many perceived this just as another fad, Joseph doubled down on his conviction, releasing a line of men’s timepieces in 1919.

His conviction was correct. By 1924, Bulova had created a line of wristwatches for women – a first! Through the use of innovative manufacturing techniques, standardizing parts, and being a leader in design, Bulova bolstered its way to become a global phenomenon.

In the early 1940s, with World War II underway and the need for American involvement becoming increasingly clear, Bulova entered into an agreement with the United States government to help aid in the war effort.

War production advertisements for Bulova / Credit: Bulova

The items produced by Bulova were aviation instruments, telescopes, navigation clocks, navigation watches, time fuses, and jewel bearings.

So, in a just over a decade, Bulova went from a line of women’s watches in 1924, to developing instruments that “enable[d] our courageous fighting men to blast the enemy out of the skies, out of the seas and off the ground!” by the early 1940s.

As the war was underway in the 1940s, Bulova was manufacturing many timekeeping devices for military use. The two popular models were the ‘Hack’ watch and the A-15 Pilot Watch.

The Bulova WWII ‘Hack’ Watch

Bulova WWII ‘Hack’ watch / Credit: The Truth About Watches

As part of Bulova’s continuous support for American troops fighting overseas, they developed an entirely new system. This was called a ‘Hack’ watch. It had the hacking seconds function which was especially important for pilots as it allowed soldiers to sync their watches with one another, potentially to perform different maneuvers more precisely.

The Bulova A-15 Pilot Watch

Bulova A-15 Pilot Watch / Credit: Rolex Forums user

Often credited as the ‘watch that won the war’, the American A-15 Pilot Watch’s specifications were provided to three of the largest watchmakers in the United States: Waltham Watch Company, Bulova, and Elgin National Watch Company.

In 1943, the United States Army Air Force was already undergoing a project to test the new A-15 design offered by Bulova. The test needed to pass rigorous requirements in order to survive the rough conditions of the battlefield. The watch developed by Bulova incorporated an elapsed time feature, and a luminous dial.

It is credited with the watch that won the war as it was worn by American troops towards the end of the war and ‘allowed’ for the Allies to drive back German troops using precision and accuracy – accurate to within +/- 30 seconds per day. As one of the major American watch companies, Bulova took its nationalistic duty seriously.

Bulova wartime advertising / Credit: Bulova

The company converted many of its plants and facilities to develop important precision instruments and critical items required to win the war. Bulova also set up a research laboratory which was used by the War Department during and after the war.

On the personnel side, for the workers who were not directly fighting in the war, they were working rigorously to manufacture the items needed by US soldiers. Bulova employees were also heavily invested in volunteer work, the most common places being the Red Cross, Community Chest, National War Fund, Blood Bank, Nurses’ Aid and War Bond Drives. The company’s employees also purchased war bonds with over 10% of the wages they earned.

While the war was still underway, Bulova increased its advertising budget, hoping to have a reservoir of consumer demand for its post war business.

As the ad spend went up, “Bulova Times the Nation” and “America Runs on Bulova Time” could be heard by 208 radio stations, every hour, every day, 365 days of the year – signaling over 300,000 time signals for the period. Bulova dedicated 25% of these time signals to the promotion of War Bonds. Bulova would be found saying “Invest in Victory – Buy More War Bonds!”.

You can read the Bulova Watch Company, 1944 Report to Stockholder’s, here.

To help aid war veterans who were physically handicapped, Arde Bulova, Joseph Bulova’s son, founded the Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking.

Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking / Credit: Bulova

The school was completely tuition free, Bulova taking care of all the costs associated with running the program. The purpose was to help veterans rehabilitate in their return to civilian life, offer a place to use their skills from war, and provide them with secure job placement after successful completion of the course.

With the Japanese surrender on September 2nd, 1945, World War II was over. Thus, by 1946, the first class of veterans graduated from the Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking and were now ready to start their new career in the watch industry. The graduates would be placed in jewelry stores throughout the country, helping guide struggling veterans into a happy and useful occupation.

During the entire period of World War II, Bulova was a notable help to the effort of the United States Army, with that effort still remembered today.

By: Eric Mulder

Excerpt from Bulova’s 1944 Annual Report / Credit: My Bulova

Read more:

“A Brief History of Joseph Bulova.” Bulova, https://www.bulova.com/us/en/collection/blog-history-of-bulova/.
“A Connection with History.” Bulova, https://www.bulova.com/us/en/collection/military/.
“A Brief Guide to the Iconic Military Watches of World War II.” 60 Clicks, https://www.60clicks.com/ww2-military-watch-guide/.
“1944 Annual Report - Bulova Watch Company Report to Shareholders.” My Bulova, https://mybulova.com/sites/default/files/bulova-annual-reports/1944AnnualReport.pdf.
“Veterans Watchmaker Initiative.” Bulova, https://www.bulova.com/us/en/veterans-watchmaker.html.